Yoga & Me

My earliest memories or awarenesses of yoga are tangled up with my curiosity about all things from India. I was about 9-years old. I thumbed thru many books. There still exists in my mind pictures of seriously thin foreign men photograped in wierd positions.  The Taj Mahal captured my imagination for its beauty, it’s story, and it’s other-worldliness.

Then, during my tweens, i found the Kama Sutra hidden away in my parent’s bedroom! I don’t remember what I was looking for, perhaps I was simply just looking?   However, the pictures (and later the words) caused me to pause and reflect!   My curiosity was again stimulated by this foreign culture.  Everything about India resonated with something deep in my soul.

My curiosity and interests continued  for decades to come.

Circa 1976,  I found a local hatha yoga class which I enjoyed but stopped attending after the initial 6 weeks were over. I had joined the class looking for meditation, which in my young mind was the same thing.  I didn’t want to stretch my body. I yearned to stretch my consciousness.  The teacher explained to me that I would have to learn the asana’s and change my diet if I wanted to learn how to meditate.

I began to study and practice  on my own with books and tapes of whoever was teaching at the time.  In the late 70’s there wasn’t much in the sleepy seashore areas of New Jersey.  And yet  I was able to find some wonderful teachers and explored nearly all of the mystical paths of knowledge. I found & joined small groups of people, all who were looking to expand their consciousness using the methods of ancient times. Native American, Wiccan, Sufi, Zen Buddhists, Taoism, Central American Shamanism, Celtic Shamanists, etc. And, of course, the Yogi’s and their 20th century representatives.

Around 1989 I was lucky enough to stumble upon The School of Practical Philosophy where I began to practice and learn vedanta. For more than 5 years I was able to engage in the practice of jnana yoga and discover buddhi, the intellect. We also practiced Karma Yoga on weekend retreats. During our time on retreat we also learned: sanskrit, dance, nada yoga, and vedic mathematics. Stretching my mind in this way created an internal response in my body.

I was ready to return to hatha yoga and integrate my mind with my body.

So, I returned to ‘yoga classes’ to learn more about all those poses. This was 1992 and in 2000 I completed my first teacher training. Teaching yoga was not a priority for me. However, teaching (anything) is a very fulfilling and enjoyable activity for me. Teaching yoga felt amazingly natural! Who knew?
Today, I have a small studio that I consider to be more of a classroom than a ‘yoga studio’. Over the past 6 years hundreds of students have come thru the door looking for something ‘fulfilling’. Many students from my very first classes are still with me.
I continue to be fascinated by the breadth and depth of knowledge that has come thru the Vedic lineage. I honor and respect the religion of Hinduism that has enlivened these divine principles with a cast of colorful gods & goddesses to help us understand ourselves. And as for those skinny, dark-skinned men that got themselves all twisted up? Thank you! For teaching all of us what is possible once you wake up. Om shanti Om.